Tickling, a nonverbal form of communication, can provide entertainment. Therefore, tickling is a desirable addition as content as a remote communication method. However, tickling is difficult to realize because it requires both body contact as well as bidirectionality. In this paper, we propose a method of "Shared Tactile Interface" which allows sharing of a body part with another user at a distance. The interface has three features: direct contact, transfer of the tickling sensation, and bidirectionality. The first allows users to view another person's finger as if it is directly contacting the user's own palm and moving on the user's palm. The second feature delivers a vibration to the user's palm which generates an illusion and perception of a tickling sensation. The third feature enables bidirectional tickling because one user can also tickle the other user's palm in the same manner. We built prototypes based on this design method, and evaluated the proposed method through two technical exhibitions. The users were able to tickle each other, which confirmed that the design method "Shared Tactile Interface" works as expected. However, we found issues especially regarding the reliability of the tickling sensation.

Stop Motion Goggle (SMG) expands visual perception by allowing users to perceive visual information selectively through a high speed shutter. In this system, the user can easily observe not only periodic rotational motion such as rotating fans or wheels, but also random motion like bouncing balls. In this research, we developed SMG and evaluated the effect of SMG on visual perception of high speed moving objects. Furthermore this paper describes users' behaviors under the expanded visual experience.

We are exposed daily to the risk of collision at numerous blind intersections. To avoid the risk of collision, we propose a system that elicits an "approaching sensation" by presenting a visual stimulus. Possible factors for the approaching sensation are the "expansion" and "motion" of a silhouette. We compared the effects of these two factors on the approaching sensation and found that to elicit an approaching sensation, the expansion factor is important, and the motion factor has a certain effect in alarming pedestrians. On the base of this result, we produced a system that presents an expanding and moving silhouette of an approaching pedestrian to the pedestrians user.

Along public pathways, visual signs and audio cues are used by pedestrians to guide them into forming smoother pedestrian flows. However, often ignored or neglected, these signals require greater pedestrian attentiveness and appropriate conscious effort. To solve this problem, we have proposed the concept of "vection field". This is a field of optical flow that cues movement according to a pedestrian's motion. Visual stimulus within this optical flow leads pedestrians innately in specific directions without requiring direct interventions. We have implemented such a field by covering the ground with a lenticular lens screen; in this setup, neither power supply nor position tracking of pedestrians is necessary. An experimental result from our previous study shows that a vection field can direct pedestrians to one side. However, the quality of the optical flow such as image clarity and smoothness of motion was unsatisfactory in that it could cause a reduction in leading inducement. In this paper, we describe in detail a new display method involving a lenticular lens screen that yields an improvement in the quality of the vection field and ultimately pedestrian optical flow. Experiments showed improvements over previous attempts.

When we perform exercise or undergo rehabilitation, it is helpful to be supported by another person. To get this support, we normally take hold of a person's arm, and pull it. In this paper, we investigate the use of a special device to produce a "pulling arm" sensation on the forearm. Using a weight comparison task, we performed an experiment to confirm the sensation of illusory external force with our device. We concluded that our current device presented about 10g to 20g weight perception.

Visual signs and audio cues are commonly used for pedestrian control in the field of general traffic research. Because pedestrians need to first acquire and then recognize such cues, time delays invariably occur between cognition and action. To better cope with this issue of delays, wearable devices have been proposed to control pedestrians more intuitively. However, the attaching and removing of the devices can be cumbersome and impractical. In this study, we propose a new visual navigation method for pedestrians using a "Vection Field" in which the optical flow is presented on the ground. The optical flow is presented using a lenticular lens, a passive optical element that generates a visual stimulus based on a pedestrian's movement without an electrical power supply. In this paper we present a design for the fundamental visual stimulus and evaluate the principle of our proposed method for directional navigation. Results revealed that the optical-flow of a stripe and random-dot pattern displaced pedestrian pathways significantly, and that implementation with a lenticular lens is feasible.

Recent development in sound technologies has enabled the realistic replay of real-life sounds. Thanks to these technologies, we can experience a virtual real sound environment. However, there are other types of sound technologies that enhance reality, such as acoustic filters, sound effects, and background music. They are quite effective if carefully prepared, but they also alter the sound itself. Consequently, sound is simultaneously used to reconstruct realistic environments and to enhance emotions, which are actually incompatible functions. With this background, we focused on using tactile modality to enhance emotions and propose a method that enhances the sound experience by a combination of sound and skin sensation to the pinna (earlobe). In this paper, we evaluate the effectiveness of this method.

Wearable computing technology is one of the methods that can augment the information processing ability of humans. However, in this area, a soft surface is often necessary to maximize the comfort and practicality of such wearable devices. Thus in this paper, we propose a soft surface material, with an organic bristling effect achieved through mechanical vibration, as a new user interface. We have used fur in order to exhibit the visually rich transformation induced by the bristling effect while also achieving the full tactile experience and benefits of soft materials. Our method needs only a layer of fur and simple vibration motors. The hairs of fur instantly bristle with only horizontal mechanical vibration. The vibration is provided by a simple vibration motor embedded below the fur material. This technology has significant potential as garment textiles or to be utilized as a general soft user interface.